A chance encounter became part of the welcome
When Richmond’s Tiny House Village, Farm & Garden celebrated its grand opening on Saturday, September 26, the new community arrived with a story already painted onto its walls. Delilah Borg, a Bay Area muralist who volunteered at the site, helped create artwork meant to encourage the young adults the project aims to support. In a report published the next day, CBS San Francisco described Borg’s contribution as personal: she said she had experienced homelessness herself.
Borg told CBS that she first noticed the project while people nearby were painting wooden planks. She introduced herself as a local artist and asked how she could help. That conversation led to an invitation from Sally Hindman, executive director of Tiny Village Spirit, to work alongside other young muralists. Borg’s path from noticing the activity to joining the project gave the village a muralist whose own experience made the work personal.
Art that points toward a next step
One of Borg’s murals shows a young woman beside the words “Dreams, Reality.” CBS reported that the images represent education, housing and what Borg called the stairs to success. She said she hoped the mural would encourage residents to pursue their goals while building stable lives. A sunrise in the piece represents new beginnings, she told the station. The artwork gives that message a place in the village, while leaving room for each young person who lives there to make it their own.
The village is designed for young adults ages 18 to 24. Tiny Village Spirit, which led the project, describes it as a seven-agency collaboration intended to double the emergency housing units serving Richmond youth, from 12 to 24. CBS reported that the new site adds 12 homes for young adults in that age range. Hope Solutions will operate the residential program, according to CBS, linking the physical homes to an organization responsible for the day-to-day service.
A neighborhood effort, built over time
The project’s lead organization traces the work back several years: it says the site was secured in 2023, permits and design followed in early 2024, groundbreaking took place in mid-2024, and framing and painting came later that year. These dated milestones describe a community project assembled step by step, rather than a one-day construction effort. CBS also reported that University of San Francisco architecture students helped with the design and that community members contributed through crowdfunding.
Photographer Daniel Arauz documented the grand opening in a Flickr record uploaded September 27. His caption says the event took place the previous day from 1 to 4 p.m. and included speakers, food and live music by Benja Soul. The Richmond Chamber of Commerce’s listing names Tiny Village Spirit as organizer and schedules the event for the same date and hours. CBS’s on-scene report, published September 27, confirms the village’s opening took place that week.
The farm and garden are part of the village’s practical plan, not just its name. CBS reported that residents will be able to learn urban gardening and receive job training there. The opening marked a new housing resource, but it did not mean every home was already occupied: CBS reported that the first residents were expected in the coming weeks.
A public milestone, and a personal one
CBS reported that residents may stay for up to two years and described the village as an addition to limited emergency housing specifically available to young adults in the area. That context helps explain why the project pairs small homes with an operator and shared resources.
For Borg, the art connects stable housing with the chance to set goals for the future. Her story does not stand in for every young person who may live at the village, and one project cannot be presented as solving housing insecurity. What opened in Richmond was a concrete community effort: homes for local young adults, a residential operator, a garden with a learning role, and murals Borg created with other young muralists.
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